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INTRODUCTION 

In  the  year  1856  the  authorities  of  the  "Mormon" 
Church  inaugurated  a  reformation  among  its  mem- 
bers. They  were  all  required  to  confess  and  repent  of 
their  sins  and  renew  their  covenants  with  God  to  live 
righteous  lives  and  refrain  from  evil.  The  President 
and  leading  Elders  of  the  Church  set  the  example  in 
this  movement,  which  was  generally  followed  by  the 
Latter-day  Saints.  Men  and  women  confessed  their 
sins  freely,  and  manifested  a  disposition  to  devote 
themselves  to  purity  of  life  in  all  time  to  come. 
Certain  gross  evils  being  in  some  instances  thus  brought 
to  light,  the  subject  of  atonement  for  deadly  sin,  for 
transgressions  committed  after  the  reception  of  the 
Holy  Ghost,  was  forcibly  elucidated  by  leading  Elders, 
particularly  by  President  Young  and  his  counselor, 
Jedediah  M.  Grant.  Those  utterances,  given  under  the 
circumstances  described,  have  been  garbled  and  misrep- 
resented and  published  to  the  world  for  the  purpose  of 
prejudicing  the  public  mind  against  the  Latter-day 
Saints  and  hindering  the  preaching  of  the  latter-day 
gospel.  To  correct  false  impressions  and  present  the 
truth  on  this  subject  the  address  is  here  printed  as  de- 
livered, by  request.  And  it  is  now  published  in  the 
interest  of  true  religion,  for  the  benefit  of  erring  hu- 


4  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

manity  and  for  the  vindication  of  eternal  justice,  which 
will  surely  claim  its  own  while  it  takes  nothing  that 
belongs  of  right  to  sweet  mercy. 

Charles  W.  Penrose. 


PREFACE  TO  SECOND  EDITION 

The  subject  treated  in  the  following  pages  is  one 
that  has  occasioned  much  interest  and  comment.  It 
is  still  greatly  misrepresented  by  opponents  of  the 
Church  of  Jesus  Christ  of  Latter-day  Saints.  The  first 
edition  having  been  exhausted  and  numerous  requests 
having  been  made  for  copies  of  it,  this  new  edition  is 
now  offered  to  the  public  in  its  original  form,  as  it  was 
delivered  as  a  lecture  and  therefore  does  not  admit  of 
additions  or  further  comments  or  quotations,  although 
the  doctrines  set  forth  are  worthy  of  more  extended 
investigation  than  is  given  in  this  pamphlet.  To  be- 
lievers in  the  Bible,  blood  atonement  should  be  an 
established  principle  of  salvation;  to  the  rational 
skeptic  it  ought  to  be  accepted  as  logical  and  just.  It 
is  submitted  to  the  thoughtful  consideration  of  all 
people  of  every  creed  and  nation. 

Charles  W.  Penrose. 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT 


The  subject  upon  which  I  have  to  speak  to  this 
congregation  this  evening  is  one  of  very  great  im- 
portance, and  one  that  has  not  been  preached  upon 
very  often  in  the  manner  in  which  I  expect  to  inves- 
tigate it.  The  subject  of  blood  atonement,  in  a  certain 
sense,  is  a  very  common  one.  All  the  Christian  sects, 
so-called,  believe  in  that  doctrine  in  some  form.  But 
there  are  ideas  in  relation  to  this  subject  which  are 
peculiar  to  the  Latter-day  Saints,  and  it  is  these  I  wish 
to  elucidate.  It  is  presented  at  the  present  time  in 
consequence  of  so  many  misrepresentations  concerning 
it.  The  Latter-day  Saints  and  their  creed  are  being 
continually  misrepresented  in  the  world.  Some  people 
make  it  a  business  to  set  forth  notions  and  ideas  which 
they  claim  to  be  the  doctrines  of  the  Latter-day  Saints, 
and  which  they  proceed  to  argue  against  and  demolish, 
just  like  setting  up  a  man  of  straw  and  then  knocking, 
him  down.  The  doctrine  of  blood  atonement  is  one 
of  those  that  are  thus  misrepresented,  and  it  is  be- 
cause of  this  that  it  becomes  necessary  for  me  this 
evening  to  take  up  the  subject  and  present  it  before 
this  congregation. 

There  is  one  thing  very  consoling  to  me,  and  that 
is  that  the  enemies  of  our  people  and  our  faith  are 
compelled  to  resort  to  misrepresentation  and  falsehood 
in  order  to  find  anything  to  fight  us  with.       If  they 


6  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

could  bring  truth  wherewith  to  meet  us  they  certainly 
would  not  resort  to  falsehood  and  error,  because  truth 
is  always  mighty,  much  more  powerful  than  falsehood ; 
and  their  only  strength  lies  in  the  fact  that  the  world 
is  not  acquainted  with  our  doctrines,  our  aims  and  our 
desires,  and  therefore  are  easily  imposed  upon  by 
anyone  who  puts  forth  an  idea  however  monstrous  and 
ridiculous  it  may  be,  purporting  to  be  "Mormonism." 
The  people  of  the  world  seem,  generally,  to  be  more 
willing  to  accept  anything  that  is  untrue  in  regard  to 
us  than  to  receive  the  facts  in  the  case.  But  I  hope 
there  will  come  a  time  when  we  shall  have  the  ears  of 
the  people;  when  we  shall  be  able  to  present  our  doc- 
trines from  our  own  standpoint  before  the  world; 
when  we  shall  be  able  to  represent  ourselves  instead  of 
being  misrepresented  by  others. 

But  there  is  one  good  that  arises  out  of  these  per- 
sistent attacks  upon  us,  and  that  is,  it  develops  our 
powers.  We  are  placed  continually  on  the  defensive ; 
we  are  never  let  alone;  we  are  all  the  time  stirred  to 
action.  This  is  good  for  us.  It  causes  us  to  think 
and  to  investigate  for  ourselves  the  principles  of  our 
holy  religion,  and  to  prepare  ourselves  to  defend  those 
principles  before  all  mankind.  This  develops  life 
among  this  people.  Stagnation  is  death.  Action  is 
life.  There  is  no  life  without  action,  and  there  is  no 
action  without  some  life. 

It  will  be  my  purpose  this  evening  to  present,  first 
the  doctrines  of  the  Latter-day  Saints  on  the  subject 
of  blood  atonement,  then,  to  show  you  some  of  the 
misrepresentations  that  have  be^en  made  about  it  in 
the  world,  and  let  them  be  compared  with  the  doctrine 
as  we  present  it  from  our  standpoint.  I  shall  have  to 
take  up  some  of  the   writings  and  sermons  of    some 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  7 

of  our  leading  men  now  deceased,  such  as  Presidents 
Brigham  Young  and  Jedediah  M.  Grant,  also  to  allude 
to  the  scriptures  and  perhaps  quote  from  one  or  two 
works  written  by  persons  unconnected  with  our  faith. 
I  will  endeavor  to  do  this  in  as  concise  a  manner  as  I 
possibly  can,  and  cover  all  the  ground  allotted  to  me. 
I  trust  I  shall  have  your  patience,  and  the  faith  and 
prayers  of  my  brethren  and  sisters,  as  I  feel  I  need 
both,  not  having  been  able  to  prepare  my  mind  as 
thoroughly  as  I  would  like  to  have  done  for  a  subject 
of  this  magnitude. 

The  doctrine  of  blood  atonement  is  founded  on  the 
sacrifice  made  by  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ  for  the  sins 
of  the  world.  When  God  made  this  earth — according 
to  the  revelations  contained  in  this  book,  the  Bible — 
He  placed  a  man  and  a  woman  in  the  garden  of  Eden, 
and  gave  them  a  commandment  in  regard  to  a  certain 
tree.  They  were  told  not  to  eat  of  the  fruit  of  that 
tree.  The  penalty  if  they  did  eat  of  it  was  death. 
They  partook  of  the  forbidden  fruit  and  the  penalty 
came  upon  them.  But  a  provision  concerning  this  had 
been  previously  made,  in  the  mercy  and  foreknowledge 
of  God.  He  understood — knowing  all  things  from  the 
beginning  to  the  end — that  Adam  and  Eve  would 
transgress,  that  they  would  break  the  law,  and  that  it 
would  be  necessary  to  provide  some  means  for  their 
restoration  from  the  effects  of  that  fall,  and  so  we 
read  that  Jesus  was  "the  lamb  slain  from  before  the 
foundation  of  the  world. "  He  was  provided  before- 
hand as  a  sacrifice  that  this  sin  which  our  first  parents 
would  commit  might  be  atoned  for,  so  that  they  might 
be  brought  back  into  the  condition  that  they  were 
placed  in  before  they  committed  the  transgression,  and 
— as  the  effect  of  their  transgression  was  to  fall  upon 


8  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

others — that  their  posterity  also  might  be  restored 
through  the  same  sacrifice. 

When  Adam  and  Eve  were  placed  in  the  garden 
they  were  not  mortal  beings.  They  were  not  subject 
to  death.  They  were  able  to  live  forever.  If  I  were 
asked  what  an  immortal  being  is,  I  would  say,  a  being 
who  is  capable — that  is,  by  continuing  and  living  in 
the  law  of  his  existence — of  living  forever.  Adam 
and  Eve  were  capable  of  continual  existence.  But 
they  broke  the  law  of  their  being  and  the  penalty 
thereof  was  death.  Now,  it  took  a  person  who  was 
innocent  of  sin,  a  person  who  was  spotless  before  God, 
a  person  upon  whom  death  had  no  claim,  to  atone  for 
that  transgression.  In  the  justice  of  God,  a  person 
upon  whom  death  had  no  claim  had  to  atone  for  the 
sin  of  one,  or  rather  two  people  made  one,  who  had 
committeed  that  great  transgression.  They  were  im- 
mortal when  they  committed  it,  and  became  mortal 
and  not  able  to  atone  for  it,  and  therefore  the  "Lamb 
without  spot,"  a  sinless  person  upon  whom  death  had 
no  claim,  had  to  come  and  atone  for  the  sin  thus  com- 
mitted. 

On  the  occasion  when  this  great  atonement  was 
wrought  out  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ,  who  voluntarily 
sacrificed  Himself  that  He  might  atone  for  this  sin, 
not  only  was  Adam's  transgression  atoned  for  by  the 
shedding  of  Jesus  Christ's  blood,  but  His  blood  was 
shed  as  an  atonement  for  the  actual  transgressions  of 
all  mankind.  The  sin  that  our  first  parents  committed 
is  technically  called  original  sin.  The  sins  of  mortal 
men  and  women  are  called  actual  sins.  I  wish  to  direct 
your  attention  to  this  matter — that  Jesus  Christ  not 
only  died  as  an  atonement  for  the  sin  of  Adam,  the 
original  sin,  but  He  died  to  offer  up  a  sacrifice  as  an 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  9 

atonement  for  the  sins  of  all  mankind ;  for  not  only  did 
Adam  sin,  but  all  his  posterity  have  sinned.  As  the 
scriptures  say,  "All  have  sinned,  and  come  short  of 
the  glory  of  God."  So  Jesus,  who  was  sinless,  who 
"knew  no  sin  and  guile  was  not  found  in  His  mouth," 
voluntarily  laid  down  His  life  for  the  guilty.  It  is 
true  that  He  was  taken  by  wicked  hands  and  put  upon 
the  cross  and  crucified.  But  He  declared  before  that 
event  took  place,  "I  lay  down  nry  life,  that  I  might 
take  it  again.  No  man  taketh  it  from  me,  but  I  lay 
it  down  of  myself.  I  have  power  to  lay  it  down,  and 
I  have  power  to  take  it  again."  And  further  we  are 
told  that  "He  is  a  propitiation  for  our  sins :  and  not  for 
ours  only,  but  also  for  the  sins  of  the  whole  world;" 
and  "as  in  Adam  all  die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be 
made  alive." 

Jesus,  then,  made  a  sacrifice  for  the  original  sin, 
and  for  the  actual  transgressions  of  man,  but  with  this 
difference — Jesus  Christ  atoned  for  the  sin  that  Adam 
committed  without  any  act  required  on  the  part  of 
Adam,  and  without  any  act  on  the  part  of  his  posterity. 
Adam's  one  sin  brought  death  into  the  world,  and  it 
passed  upon  all  mankind.  Jesus  Christ's  atonement 
brings  life  again,  and  so  all  mankind  must  stand  up 
again  upon  their  feet  in  their  resurrected  bodies  and  be 
judged  for  their  own  sins,  not  for  Adam's  transgres- 
sion. The  penalty  for  Adam's  transgression  was  death 
to  the  human  family.  The  atonement  wrought  out  by 
Christ  brings  life  to  them  again.  The  atonement  is 
as  broad  as  the  offense,  and  the  effects  of  Christ's  sac- 
rifice are  as  extended  as  the  effects  of  Adam's  trans- 
gression. As  I  have  quoted  to  you,  "As  in  Adam  all 
die,  even  so  in  Christ  shall  all  be  made  alive."  But 
when  all  men  are  made  alive  again,  the  good  and  the 


10  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

bad,  the  bond  and  the  free,  Jew  and  Gentile ;  when  all 
are  brought  up  again  in  the  time  and  order  that  God 
has  ordained,  they  must  be  judged  for  their  own  trans- 
gressions. Now,  then,  when  they  are  judged  for  these 
transgressions,  if  they  have  accepted  by  their  obedience 
to  the  laws  of  God,  the  gospel  of  Christ  and  the  atone- 
ment which  Christ  wrought  out  for  them,  His  blood 
will  be  a  propitiation  for  their  actual  sins.  If  they 
have  not  accepted  that  by  obedience  to  the  gospel,  then 
the  shedding  of  His  blood  will  not  have  effect  upon 
them,  and  they  will  have  to  suffer  the  penalty.  That 
penalty  is  banishment  from  the  presence  of  God,  which 
is  spiritual  death. 

This  death  was  pronounced  upon  our  parents  in  the 
beginning.  They  not  only  died  as  to  the  body,  but 
were  shut  out  from  the  presence  of  God.  This  is  the 
spiritual  destruction  which  is  coming  upon  the  wicked. 
As  the  Apostle  says,  "The  Lord  Jesus  shall  be  revealed 
from  heaven  with  His  mighty  angels,  in  flaming  fire 
taking  vengeance  on  them  that  know  not  God,  and  that 
obey  not  the  gospel  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ:  who 
shall  be  punished  with  everlasting  destruction  from  the 
presence  of  the  Lord,  and  from  the  glory  of  His 
power."  But  if  people  accept  the  atonement  wrought 
out  by  Jesus  Christ  for  them — and  that  acceptance  is 
not  merely  in  assenting  unto  it  by  word,  but  in  obedi- 
ence to  His  gospel — then  it  will  act  as  a  propitiation 
for  their  actual  sins,  just  as  the  Apostle  John  says :  "If 
we  walk  in  the  light,  as  He  is  in  the  light,  we  have 
fellowship  one  with  another,  and  the  blood  of  Christ 
His  Son  cleanseth  us  from  all  sin."  If  they  are  not 
in  the  light  as  He  is  in  the  light,  if  they  have  not  fel- 
lowship with  Him,  then  His  blood  is  not  a  propitiation 
for  their  sins.     It  is  shed  unconditionally  for  the  sin 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  11 

of  Adam;  it  is  shed  conditionally  for  the  actual  sins 
of  his  posterity. 

This  may  be  a  little  different  from  the  view  enter- 
tained by  "Christian"  sects ;  but  all  people  who  profess 
to  be  "Christians"  believe  in  the  atonement  wrought 
out  by  Christ  in  some  way  or  other — that  is,  they  be- 
lieve that  through  Christ's  blood  atonement  was  made 
for  sin,  and  that  through  that  atonement  they  have 
acceptance  with  God.  They  have  various  views  in 
regard  to  doctrinal  matters,  but  this  is  the  cardinal 
point,  and  it  enters  into  every  creed  of  the  "Christian" 
religion. 

Now,  on  what  principle  was  this  predicated  ?  It  was 
on  the  principle  laid  down  by  the  Apostle  Paul  in  his 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  to  which  I  will  draw  your 
attention,  for  there  is  a  reason  for  all  these  things. 
There  is  a  reason  why  blood  had  to  be  shed.  Atone- 
ment could  not  have  been  made  without  the  shedding 
of  blood.  The  22nd  verse  of  the  9th  chapter  of  the 
epistle  to  the  Hebrews  says:  "And  almost  all  things 
are  by  the  law  purged  with  blood;  and  without  shed- 
ding of  blood  is  no  remission."  There  is  no  remission 
of  sins  without  the  shedding  of  blood,  and  "the  wages 
of  sin  is  death."  That  is  the  penalty.  "The  soul  that 
sinneth  it  shall  die."  This  is  the  law  of  God.  But 
Christ,  who  was  sinless,  offered  Himself  as  a  propitia- 
tion for  the  sins  of  those  upon  whom  death  had  a 
claim,  and  if  they  accept  His  atonement  they  obtain 
the  benefit  thereof.  Instead  of  the  blood  of  the  indi- 
viduals being  shed  the  blood  of  Christ  was  shed  for 
them,  and  it  stands  in  the  place  of  their  blood.  What 
is  the  reason  of  that?  Why,  we  are  told  in  the  book 
of  Leviticus,  the  17th  chapter  and  11th  verse:  "For 
the  life  of  the  flesh  is  in  the  blood;  and  I  have  given 


12  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

it  to  you  upon  the  altar  to  make  an  atonement  for  your 
souls ;  for  it  is  the  blood  that  maketh  an  atonement  for 
the  soul."  Here  you  see  the  doctrine  of  blood  atone- 
ment laid  down,  and  the  reason  for  it.  "The  life  of 
the  flesh  is  in  the  blood,"  and  it  requires  the  shedding 
of  blood  to  make  "atonement  for  the  soul."  But,  as 
I  have  shown  you,  the  blood  of  every  individual  man 
and  woman  is  not  required,  because  of  the  atonement 
wrought  out  by  Jesus  Christ.  Here  is  a  cardinal  prin- 
ciple of  the  law  of  God — that  without  shedding  of 
blood  there  is  no  remissions  of  sins.  Therefore,  if 
Christ's  blood  had  not  been  shed,  each  individual 
would  have  had  to  have  his  blood  shed,  according  to 
Bible  doctrine.  This  may  sound  very  horrifying  to 
some  people;  but  it  is  Bible  doctrine  all  the  same.  It 
is  the  doctrine  of  the  Old  Testament,  it  is  the  doctrine 
of  the  New  Testament;  atonement  or  sacrifice  was 
based  on  this,  and  this  doctrine  was  practised  by  the 
people  before  the  law  of  Moses  was  given. 

Take  the  Old  Testament  and  read  the  account  given 
in  the  Book  of  Genesis.  There  you  will  find  that 
sacrifices  were  offered  as  soon  as  our  first  parents  came 
out  from  the  Garden  of  Eden.  They  understood  the 
principle  of  sacrifice,  for  the  law  of  sacrifice  was  re- 
vealed to  them.  If  I  were  to  read  from  the  book 
called  The  Pearl  of  Great  Price  you  would  see  the 
reason  for  it;  but  a  great  many  people  would  not  re- 
ceive what  is  contained  in  that  book  as  authoritative. 
But  the  Bible  shows  that  the  law  of  sacrifice  was  re- 
vealed to  the  patriarchs,  and  under  it,  before  the  law 
of  Moses  was  given,  the  people  are  represented  as 
offering  up  sacrifices  for  individual  sins,  and  when 
the  law  of  Moses  was  received,  this  was  amplified  and 
made  clear.     Plain  and  definite  laws  were  given  to  the 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  13 

people  by  revelation  from  God  through  Moses,  so  that 
when  they  committed  certain  sins  the  blood  of  certain 
animals  was  shed  as  a  sacrifice  for  those  sins. 

All  those  sacrifices  which  were  offered  up  before 
Jesus  Christ,  our  Redeemer,  came  into  the  world  were 
typical  of  the  atonement  that  He  was  to  work  out.  It 
was  not  the  shedding  of  the  blood  of  goats,  sheep  and 
bullocks  upon  the  altar  that  made  the  atonement;  but 
this  was  typical  of  the  atonement  of  Jesus  Christ  in 
the  future ;  just  as  we,  when  we  partake  of  the  Lord's 
Supper,  have  a  piece  of  bread  and  a  cup  of  water,  or 
wine,  as  the  case  may  be,  to  represent  the  atonement 
wrought  out  in  the  past.  As  the  bread  and  wine,  or 
water,  of  the  sacrament  represent  the  body  and  blood 
of  Christ  who  died  for  us,  so  all  those  sacrifices  which 
were  offered  up  in  the  Mosaic  dispensation,  and  in  the 
Patriarchal  dispensation  which  preceded  it,  were  typ- 
ical of  the  atonement  to  be  wrought  out  by  Jesus  Christ 
when  He  should  come,  their  ceremonies  looking  to  the 
future,  ours  referring  to  the  past.  So  the  doctrine  of 
salvation,  you  see,  is  absolutely  based  on  blood  atone- 
ment, and  without  blood  atonement  there  is  no  salva- 
tion, for  there  is  no  remission  of  sins.  And  there 
would  be  no  resurrection  if  it  had  not  been  for  the 
shedding  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  He  was  given 
as  a  ransom  for  us  all.  He  said,  "And  I  if  I  be  lifted 
up,  will  draw  all  men  towards  me."  And  again  on 
another  occasion :  "Marvel  not  at  this :  for  the  hour, 
is  coming,  in  the  which  all  that  are  in  the  graves  shall 
hear  His  voice.  And  shall  come  forth ;  they  that  have 
done  good,  unto  the  resurrection  of  life ;  and  they  that 
have  done  evil,  unto  the  resurrection  of  damnation." 
Showing  that  though  His  blood  was  shed  for  the  res- 
urrection of  mankind,  yet  when  they  were  resurrected, 


14  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

all  would  not  enter  into  life  and  receive  the  full  benefit 
of  the  atonement  because  they  did  not  obey  His  com- 
mandments. 

Now,  the  people  called  Latter-day  Saints  believe  in 
the  efficacy  of  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  They  be- 
lieve that  it  cleanses  from  sin.  They  believe  that 
through  faith  in  God  and  repentance  of  sin,  and  bap- 
tism in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  for  the  remission  of 
sins,  they  obtain  a  remission  of  all  their  past  guilt; 
that  they  become  washed  and  made  clean  through 
obedience  to  this  principle  and  ordinance.  This  is  the 
gospel  revealed  in  these  last  times  to  us,  as  God  re- 
vealed it  through  Jesus  in  former  times,  which  we  may 
read  in  the  New  Testament.  The  people  in  the  days 
of  the  Apostles  were  called  upon  to  believe  in  Jesus 
Christ,  to  repent  of  their  sins,  and  to  be  baptized  in 
water  for  the  remission  of  sins ;  remission  of  sins  com- 
ing through  the  shedding  of  Christ's  blood,  baptism 
being  administered  by  one  having  authority  from 
Jesus  Christ  and  being  void  without  it  is  administered 
by  that  authority.  But  an  individual  who  believes  in 
Christ,  and  who  repents — that  is  turns  away  from  his 
sins — and  is  baptized  in  the  name  of  Jesus  Christ  by 
one  having  authority  from  Him,  receives  the  blessing 
of  the  remission  of  sins,  which  is  given  to  him  through 
his  obedience,  in  the  act  of  baptism,  and  through  the 
shedding  of  Jesus  Christ's  blood.  Persons  who  have 
been  thus  washed  from  their  sins,  who  have  been  thus 
made  clean,  who  have  been  thus  regenerated,  are  thus 
made  fit  to  receive  the  Holy  Ghost — which  Holy  Ghost 
will  not  dwell  in  unclean  tabernacles.  But  being  washed 
clean,  and  believing  in  the  blood  of  Christ,  they  are 
made  fit  to  receive  the  Holy  Ghost.  This  is  the  Spirit 
of  Truth,  which  bears  record  of  the  Father  and  of 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  15 

the  Son,  and  makes  the  things  of  God  plain  to  human- 
ity. It  is  a  constant  monitor  to  those  who  will  listen  to 
its  voice. 

But  there  are  persons  who,  after  having  been  washed 
and  made  clean  through  the  blood  of  Christ,  and  made 
members  of  His  Church,  again  commit  sin.  What 
about  them?  Why,  if  they  truly  repent,  and  make  all 
the  restitution  that  lays  in  their  power,  they  may  be 
forgiven,  they  may  be  cleansed  again.  But  there  are 
some  sins  that  can  be  committed  from  which  they 
cannot  be  cleansed  by  the  blood  of  Christ. After  receiv- 
ing the  gospel  and  entering  into  sacred  covenants  with 
God  Almighty,  after  having  been  enlightened  by  the 
Spirit  of  Truth,  having  tasted  of  the  good  word  of 
God  and  the  power  of  the  world  to  come,  if  they 
commit  certain  sins  they  cannot  gain  the  remission  of 
those  sins  through  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ.  That 
may  be  a  new  doctrine  to  many  people  of  the  world, 
but  it  is  an  old  doctrine  to  the  Latter-day  Saints,  and 
you  can  find  it  laid  down  distinctly  and  clearly  in  the 
Bible. 

As  the  misrepresentations  that  have  been  made  con- 
cerning this  doctrine  are  all  founded  upon  some  re- 
marks made  some  years  ago  by  Presidents  Brigham 
Young  and  Jedediah  M.  Grant,  I  will  here  read  Presi- 
dent Young's  doctrine  on  this  subject  so  that  you  may 
understand  it  as  it  was  enunciated  by  him.  I  have 
here  a  volume  of  a  work  called  the  Journal  of  Dis- 
courses, containing  sermons  preached  by  our  leading 
Elders  for  many  years,  These  were  first  published  in 
the  Deseret  News  in  this  country,  and  afterwards  in 
England — 42  Islington,  Liverpool — in  book  form.  Thus 
they  were  no  secret,  as  some  traducers  would  have  the 


16  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

world  believe.       What  I  am  about  to  read  is  in  the 
Fourth  Volume,  page  53 : 

"There  are  sins  which  men  commit  for  which  they 
cannot  receive  forgiveness  in  this  world,  or  in  that 
which  is  to  come,  and  if  they  had  their  eyes  open  to  see 
their  true  condition,  they  would  be  perfectly  willing 
to  have  their  blood  spilt  upon  the  ground,  that  the 
smoke  thereof  might  ascend  to  heaven  as  an  offering 
for  their  sins;  and  the  smoking  incense  would  atone 
for  their  sins,  whereas  if  such  is  not  the  case,  they  will 
stick  to  them  in  the  spirit  world. 

"And  furthermore  I  know  that  there  are  transgres- 
sors, who,  if  they  knew  themselves,  and  the  only  con- 
dition upon  which  they  can  obtain  forgiveness,  would 
beg  of  their  brethren  to  shed  their  blood,  that  the 
smoke  thereof  might  ascend  to  God  as  an  offering  to 
appease  the  wrath  that  is  kindled  against  them,  and 
that  the  law  might  have  its  course.  I  will  say  further 
I  have  had  men  come  to  me  and  offer  their  lives  to 
atone  for  their  sins. 

"It  is  true  that  the  blood  of  the  Son  of  God  was 
shed  for  sin  through  the  fall  and  those  committed  by 
men,  yet  men  can  commit  sins  which  it  will  not  re- 
mit." 

Now,  according  to  the  doctrine  of  President  Brig- 
ham  Young,  the  blood  of  Jesus  Christ,  as  I  have  shown 
you,  atoned  for  the  original  sin,  and  for  sins  that  men 
commit,  and  yet  there  are  sins  which  men  commit  for 
which  they  cannot  receive  remission  through  the  shed- 
ding of  Christ's  blood.  Is  that  a  true  doctrine?  It  is 
true  if  the  Bible  is  true.  That  is  Bible  doctrine.  I  will 
direct  your  attention  to  one  or  two  passages  of  scrip- 
ture which  bear  on  this  subject.  In  the  first  place  I 
will  refer  you  to  the  words  of  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ, 
which  you  will  find  in  the  12th  chapter  of  the  gospel 
according  to  St.  Matthew  and  the  31st  and  32nd 
verses,  namely : 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  17 

"Wherefore  I  say  unto  you,  all  manner  of  sin  and 
blasphemy  shall  be  forgiven  unto  men:  but  the  blas- 
phemy against  the  Holy  Ghost  shall  not  be  forgiven 
unto  men. 

"And  whosoever  speaketh  a  word  against  the  Son 
of  Man,  it  shall  be  forgiven  him :  but  whosoever  speak- 
eth a  word  aginst  the  Holy  Ghost,  it  shall  not  be  for- 
given him,  neither  in  this  world,  neither  in  the  world 
to  come." 

Here  is  one  sin  spoken  of  by  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
which  will  not  be  forgiven  in  this  world,  nor  in  the 
world  to  come,  notwithstanding  that  Christ's  blood  has 
been  shed  for  the  remission  of  sins.  And  why  is  this? 
It  is  to  be  supposed  that  a  person  who  sins  against 
the  Holy  Ghost  must  have  first  received  the  Holy 
Ghost.  A  person  who  never  received  the  Holy  Ghost, 
never  was  enlightened  by  it,  never  enjoyed  that  heav- 
enly gift,  could  not  sin  against  the  Holy  Ghost;  but 
if  he  has  received  the  Holy  Ghost  through  obedience 
to  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ — having  first  been  washed 
clean  of  his  transgressions  through  the  atoning  blood 
of  Christ — then  if  he  sins  against  that  Holy  Ghost  he 
sins  aginst  light,  he  sins  aginst  knowledge,  he  sins  un- 
derstandingly,  he  sins  wilfully,  and  then  there  is  no 
more  cleansing  from  sin,  as  I  will  show  you  from  an- 
other text,  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews,  10th  chapter, 
26th  verse: 

"For  if  we  sin  wilfully  after  that  we  have  received 
the  knowldge  of  the  truth,  there  remaineth  no  more 
sacrifice  for  sins." 

There  is  then  no  more  sacrifice  for  sins.  Why?  Be- 
cause he  has  received  the  benefit  ,of  Christ's  atonement 
and  the  light  of  God  as  the  consequence  of  obedience, 
and  then  sinned  against  that  light,  for  which  there  is 


18  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

no  forgiveness  in  this  world,  nor  in  the  world  to  come. 
Now,  you  take  that  with  the  doctrine  of  Brigham 
Young  and  you  will  find  that  they  harmonize  and  that 
there  are  some  sins  for  which  we  cannot  receive  for- 
giveness. We  must  pay  the  penalty.  There  are  some 
sins  that  people  commit,  and  no  matter  how  much  they 
may  repent,  no  matter  how  sorry  they  may  be  after- 
wards, yet  the  effects  of  the  sins  have  such  far-reach- 
ing consequences  that  they  will  have  to  pay  the  pen- 
alty of  their  transgressions  before  they  can  come  forth 
from  punishment  and  receive  the  blessing  of  God.  As 
Jesus  said,  "They  shall  be  cast  into  prison  and  verily 
they  shall  not  come  out  thence  until  they  have  paid 
the  uttermost  farthing."  There  are  sins  that  can  be 
forgiven.  There  were  sins  that  could  be  forgiven  in 
olden  times  by  offering  certain  sacrifices  on  the  altar. 
Then  there  were  other  sins  that  could  not  be  atoned  for 
in  that  way;  the  individual  himself  had  to  pay  the 
penalty  by  his  blood,  as  I  can  show  by  reference  to 
the  book  of  Leviticus.  However,  I  will  cite  you  now 
to  the  First  Epistle  of  John,  5th  chapter  and  16th 
verse,  namely: 

"If  any  man  see  his  brother  sin  a  sin  which  is  not 
unto  death,  he  shall  ask,  and  he  shall  give  him  life 
for  them  that  sin  not  unto  death.  There  is  a  sin  unto 
death:  I  do  not  say  that  he  shall  pray  for  it." 

The  Apostle  John  seems  to  have  understood  this 
doctrine  in  the  same  way  that  President  Young  under- 
stood it — that  there  are  some  sins  that  are  sins  unto 
death,  and  he  would  not  counsel  men  to  pray  for  a  man 
who  had  sinned  unto  death.  Hence  you  see  that  John 
the  Apostle  and  Brigham  Young  are  in  harmony  on 
this  question.     Let  me  turn  now  to  the  Epistle  to 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  19 

the  Hebrews,  the  4th  verse  of  the  6th  chapter,  which 
reads : 

"For  it  is  impossible  for  those  who  were  once  en- 
lightened, and  have  tasted  of  the  heavenly  gift,  and 
were  made  partakers  of  the  Holy  Ghost, 

"And  have  tasted  the  good  word  of  God,  and  the 
powers  of  the  world  to  come, 

"If  they  shall  fall  away,  to  renew  them  again  unto 
repentance ;  seeing  they  crucify  to  themselves  the  Son 
of  God  afresh,  and  put  Him  to  an  open  shame." 

According  to  the  Apostle  Paul,  then,  after  a  man  has 
been  enlightened  by  the  heavenly  gift,  after  he  has 
received  the  Holy  Ghost  as  a  gift  from  God,  after  he 
has  tasted  of  the  good  word  of  God  and  of  the  powers 
of  the  world  to  come,  if  he  shall  fall  away  it  is  impos- 
sible to  renew  him  again  unto  repentance ;  therefore  it 
is  impossible  for  him  to  be  saved;  for  he  cannot  re- 
pent, and  there  is  no  forgiveness  without  repentance, 
and  when  a  man  gets  into  such  a  condition  that  he  can- 
not repent,  he  cannot  be  saved.  If  he  cannot  repent, 
he  cannot  be  forgiven;  he  must  pay  the  penalty;  and 
if  his  sins  are  of  such  a  character  that  he  is  worthy  of 
death  he  must  suffer  the  penalty ;  otherwise  there  is  no 
salvation  for  him,  according  to  the  doctrine  that  the 
Apostle  lays  down  in  the  Epistle  to  the  Hebrews. 

Now  let  me  cite  you  to  the  First  Epistle  of  Paul  to 
the  Corinthians  and  5th  chapter.  In  the  first  part  of 
this  chapter  the  apostle  refers  to  a  very  great  sin,  a 
sexual  crime,  which  was  had  among  the  Corinthian 
saints.  The  former-day  saints  sometimes  committed 
great  transgressions  just  like  some  of  the  Latter-day 
Saints,  so  that  the  Latter-day  Saints  are  no  worse 
than  the  former  in  that  respect.  For  in  the  ancient 
Church  of   Christ  some  apostatized,  and  those  who 


20  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

came  into  that  Church  and  afterwards  fell  away,  be- 
came much  worse  than  people  who  had  never  tasted  of 
the  word  of  God,  nor  of  the  power  of  the  world  to 
come.  The  Apostle  Paul  writes  about  a  gross  sin  that 
I  need  not  mention  tonight ;  but  he  says : 

"For  I  verily,  as  absent  in  body  but  present  in  spirit, 
have  judged  already  as  though  I  were  present  con- 
cerning him  that  hath  done  this  deed, 

"To  deliver  such  an  one  unto  Satan  for  the  destruc- 
tion of  the  flesh  that  the  spirit  may  be  saved  in  the 
day  of  the  Lord  Jesus." 

I  wonder  how  much  our  modern  Christian  friends 
understand  of  that  doctrine.  Paul  understood  it,  the 
Corinthian  saints  understood  it.  Here  was  a  man 
who  came  into  the  Church,  received  the  Holy  Ghost, 
was  made  partaker  of  the  heavenly  gift,  had  rejoiced 
in  the  truth,  and  then,  through  temptation  and  wicked- 
ness, he  went  into  corruption,  violated  the  covenants  he 
had  made  to  be  true  and  faithful  to  God  by  ceasing 
from  sin,  and  committed  a  gross  transgression  for 
which  he  could  not  have  forgiveness — such  a  one  was 
to  be  delivered  unto  Satan  for  the  destruction  of  the 
flesh,  that  the  spirit  might  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.  Now,  it  seems,  according  to  this  doc- 
trine of  the  Apostle  Paul,  that  if  that  man  was  de- 
stroyed in  the  flesh  there  would  be  some  chance  for 
him  to  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Why? 
Because  he  had  made  as  much  atonement  as  he  pos- 
sibly could  for  his  sin.  He  had  given  his  life.  What 
is  life?  The  life  of  the  flesh  is  the  blood.  So  the 
scriptures  say.  He  was  delivered  over  to  the  buffet- 
ings  of  Satan  that  he  might  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the 
Lord  Jesus.    This  is  the  same  as  the  doctrine  taught  by 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  21 

the  Savior.  Brigham  Young  understood  it  perfectly. 
He  says  there  are  some  sins  men  may  commit  for 
which  they  cannot  get  forgiveness,  for  which  they  will 
have  to  suffer  the  penalty  in  the  world  to  come,  but  if 
their  blood  is  shed  as  an  offering  for  their  sin,  their 
spirits  might  be  saved  in  the  day  of  the  Lord  Jesus; 
just  exactly  as  the  Apostle  Paul  teaches  here,  in  the 
text  I  have  read  to  you. 

Now,  what  kind  ,of  sins  are  there  for  which  men  can- 
not get  forgiveness?  The  Apostle  John  says  in  the 
same  epistle  I  read  from  just  now — the  3rd  chapter  of 
the  First  Epistle  of  John: 

"No  murderer  hath  eternal  life  abiding  in  him." 

The  man  who  commits  murder,  who  imbrues  his 
hands  in  the  blood  of  innocence,  cannot  receive  eternal 
life,  because  he  cannot  get  forgiveness  of  that  sin. 
What  can  he  do  ?  The  only  way  to  atone  is  to  shed  his 
blood.  Hanging  is  not  the  proper  method.  I  refer 
you  now  to  the  9th  chapter  of  the  Book  of  Genesis,  6 
verse : 

"Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed." 

That  is  the  law  of  God  as  laid  down  in  the  begin- 
ning; that  if  a  man  shall  shed  blood,  by  man  shall  his 
blood  be  shed.  Why?  Because  the  blood  is  the  life 
of  the  flesh,  and  is  the  only  atonement  a  man  can  make 
for  killing  another.  A  murderer,  by  the  shedding  of 
his  blood,  may  make  some  atonement  for  his  sin;  but 
he  cannot  come  forth  and  inherit  an  exaltation  in 
eternal  life,  he  must  be  content  with  a  less  degree  of 
glory.  Still,  as  Brother  Brigham  taught,  there  is  a 
chance  for  some  men  who  have  committed  this  great 


22  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

transgression  if  their  blood  be  shed,  and  there  are 
others  who,  even  if  they  were  willing  to  have  their 
blood  shed,  could  not  obtain  forgiveness  for  their 
transgressions.  You  can  read  about  this  in  the  rev- 
elation on  celestial  marriage.  (Doctrine  and  Cove- 
nants, Sec.  cxxxii,  par.  26-7.)  They  are  those  who  have 
not  only  been  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Christ,  re- 
ceived the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  and  been  enlight- 
ened from  on  high,  but  have  been  in  the  most  sacred 
places  on  the  earth,  ordained  of  God  by  His  holy 
law,  and  have  made  special  covenants  in  relation  to 
that  and  other  sins;  they  have  been  specially  enlight- 
ened ;  they  have  gone  from  step  to  step,  from  grace  to 
grace,  from  knowledge  to  knowledge,  and  have  had 
keys  of  power  placed  in  their  hands  whereby,  if  they 
are  faithful,  they  may  climb  to  the  highest  pinnacle  of 
honor  and  glory  in  the  presence  of  our  Heavenly 
Father,  and  then  they  turn  round  and  commit  this  great 
transgression,  the  shedding  of  innocent  blood.  For 
them  there  is  no  forgiveness.  They  will  be  banished 
from  the  presence  of  God ;  they  cannot  inherit  the  glory 
which  was  sealed  upon  them,  however  repentant  they 
may  be ;  they  cannot  come  up  in  the  first  resurrection 
and  enter  into  their  exaltation ;  but  they  must  be  cast 
out  from  the  presence  of  God  a>nd  have  the  everlasting 
penalty  pronounced,  "Depart  from  me  ye  workers  of 
iniquity."  They  will  be  banished  from  the  presence  of 
God,  which  is  spiritual  destruction,  that  spiritual  death 
which  is  called  the  "second  death." 

But,  there  are  other  persons  who  by  making  this 
atonement  may  obtain  redemption — persons  that  have 
not  advanced  to  this  degree  of  knowledge  and  under- 
standing, and  whose  sins  are  not  of  so  heinous  a 
nature.     Because  sin  is  gauged  by  the  light  of  the  in- 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  23 

dividual.  The  depth  of  man's  infamy  is  gauged  by 
the  degree  of  his  light  and  his  opportunity.  He  that 
knows  much  is  expected  to  do  much.  Of  him  that 
knows  but  little,  only  little  is  expected.  If  a  man  has 
great  light  and  he  sins  he  is  the  greater  sinner.  I  have 
heard  people  argue  that  all  sin  is  the  result  of  ignor- 
ance. Well,  it  is  just  the  other  way.  Sin  is  rather 
the  result  of  knowledge;  because  a  man  cannot  sin 
without  some  light.  An  idiot  cannot  sin,  because  he 
is  irresponsible.  It  takes  a  responsible  being  to  do  re- 
sponsible wrong.  The  more  responsible  a  man  is,  the 
greater  wrong  he  does  if  he  commits  transgression. 
The  greater  a  man's  light  is,  the  greater  his  sin.  The 
greater  the  light,  the  greater  the  condemnation  for 
doing  wrong.  That  is  based  upon  the  eternal  prin- 
ciple of  justice.  From  this,  then,  it  would  seem  that 
if  a  man  commits  a  sin  unto  death  there  is  no  re- 
demption: if  not  unto  death,  and  he  pays  the  pen- 
alty, there  is  for  him  a  chance  of  salvation. 

This  divine  law  for  shedding  the  blood  of  a  murderer 
has  never  been  repealed.  It  is  a  law  given  by  the  Al- 
mighty and  not  abrogated  in  the  Christian  faith.  It 
stands  on  record  for  all  time — that  a  murderer  shall 
have  his  blood  shed.  He  that  commits  murder  must 
be  slain.  "Whoso  sheddeth  man's  blood,  by  man  shall 
his  blood  be  shed."  I  know  there  are  some  benevolent 
and  philanthropic  people  in  these  times  who  think  that 
capital  punishment  ought  to  be  abolished.  Yet  I  think 
the  Lord  knows  better  than  they.  The  law  He  has 
ordained  will  have  the  best  results  to  mankind  in  gen- 
eral. 

Well,  is  there  any  other  sin  that  a  man  may  commit 
which  is  worthy  of  death?     I  think  there  is.     I  will 


24  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

refer  to  one  in  the  Book  of  Leviticus,  20th  chapter  and 
10th  verse: 

"And  the  man  that  committeth  adultery  with  an- 
other man's  wife,  even  he  that  committeth  adultery 
with  his  neighbor's  wife,  the  adulterer  and  the  adult- 
eress shall  surely  be  put  to  death." 

That  was  the  law  of  God  in  the  days  of  Moses.  It 
was  the  law  of  God  previous  to  the  days  of  Moses,  as 
you  will  find  by  reference  to  the  Book  of  Genesis.  It 
has  been  a  law  of  God  from  the  beginning.  Some 
people  have  an  idea  that  Jesus  Christ  did  away  with 
that  law,  and  they  bring  up  the  case  of  the  woman  that 
had  been  taken  in  transgression  The  object  of  the 
Pharisees  in  bringing  the  woman  to  the  Savior  was 
that  they  might  catch  Him  in  some  way.  You  will  find 
by  reading  the  history  of  Jesus  Christ's  ministry  on 
the  earth  that  it  was  then  as  it  is  today — snares  are  all 
the  time  being  laid  to  catch  the  servants  of  God.  They 
tried  to  entrap  Him  in  many  ways,  but  He  was  able  to 
meet  them  with  the  wisdom  of  the  great  God ;  for  the 
Spirit  of  God  was  given  to  Him  without  measure.  The 
woman  they  brought  to  Him  was  taken  in  this  great 
transgression.  The  Pharisees  knew  the  law  of  Moses 
was  that  she  should  be  put  to  death..  They  inquired 
what  Jesus  had  to  say.  He  stooped  down  and  thought 
a  little  while,  then  wrote  with  His  finger  on  the  ground 
and  exclaimed,  "Let  him  that  is  without  sin  cast  the 
first  stone!"  The  Pharisees  looked  at  each  other  and 
finally  they  slipped  away.  Why?  Because  that  was 
"an  evil  and  adulterous  generation."  These  self-right- 
ous  hypocrites  were  guilty  of  the  transgression  them- 
selves, and  the  person  to  inflict  the  penalty,  justly, 
had  to  be  one  who  was  not  guilty;  for  how  could  one 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  25 

such  sinner  rightly  inflict  the  penalty  upon  another? 
Jesus  Christ's  words  smote  them  to  the  heart,  and  they 
slunk  off  and  left  the  woman  standing  there.  Did  the 
sinner  go  free  ?  Did  Jesus  say  the  law  ought  not  to  be 
inflicted  ?  No.  He  asked :  " Woman,  where  are  thine 
accusers?"  They  are  gone.  "Neither  do  I  accuse 
thee."  It  must  be  remembered  that  there  must  be  ac- 
cusers as  well  as  judges.  Jesus  set  a  pattern  which 
judges  in  these  times  would  do  well  to  follow.  He  did 
not  act  as  an  attorney  for  the  prosecution  or  as  a  wit- 
ness against  the  accused  as  well  as  a  judge  to  pro- 
nounce the  sentence.  "Woman,  where  are  those  thine 
accusers  *  *  *  Neither  do  I  condemn  thee;  go, 
and  sin  no  more." 

In  regard  to  this  offense  the  law  of  the  Lord  to  the 
Latter-day  Saints  teaches  that  if  a  member  of  the 
Church  commits  adultery  and  repents  with  all  his  heart 
he  shall  be  forgiven,  but  if  he  does  it  again  he  shall  be 
cast  out.  But  there  is  another  law  in  relation  to  this 
that  goes  a  little  further,  that  is  in  regard  to  persons 
who  have  advanced  in  the  knowledge  of  God.  A  man 
who  comes  into  this  Church  and  is  baptized  for  the  re- 
mission of  his  sins  and  advances  no  further  in  the  order 
of  God,  if  he  commits  this  transgression  and  truly  re- 
pents and  commits  the  sin  no  more — and  true  repent- 
ance is  shown  by  refraining  from  sin  in  future — he 
may  be  forgiven.  But  if  he  has  entered  the  sacred 
covenants  spoken  of  in  the  revelation  on  celestial  mar- 
riage and  then  commits  that  transgression,  what  is  the 
penalty?  Why,  if  it  were  carried  out  to  the  full  extent 
as  in  times  of  old  his  blood  would  be  shed.  As  it  is  he 
is  excommunicated — cut  off  from  every  gospel  priv- 
ilege. Is  not  that  strong  doctrine?  Yes,  it  is  strong 
doctrine,  but  it  is  true  doctrine.    Should  not  virtue  be 


26  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

at  least  as  dear  to  us  as  life?  I  think  it  should.  I 
think  that  virtue  should  be  dearer  than  life,  if  there  is 
any  difference  between  them.  Then  if  he  who  sheds  a 
man's  blood  should  have  his  blood  shed;  if  he  who 
takes  life  is  worthy  of  death,  then  he  who  takes  that 
away  which  is  dearer  than  life  is  also  worthy  of  death, 
and  any  man  who  commits  adultery  with  his  neigh- 
bor's wife,  after  he  has  entered  the  new  and  everlasting 
covenant,  ought  to  make  atonement  for  his  transgres- 
sion by  the  pouring  out  of  his  blood  upon  the  earth. 
For  he  has  tampered  with  the  fountain  of  life,  he  has 
defiled  life  at  its  mainspring  and  polluted  the  source 
from  which  life  comes.  That  is  the  doctrine  upon 
which  the  law  was  predicated — that  the  adulterer  and 
the  adulteress  hould  be  put  to  death.  Thus,  there  are 
some  sins  that  cannot  be  atoned  for  through  the  blood 
of  Christ.  They  can  only  be  atoned  for  by  the  shed- 
ding of  the  sinner's  blood.  A  murderer  is  one,  and  an 
adulterer  is  another.  And  there  is  plenty  of  proof  in 
what  I  have  read  that  this  is  Bible  doctrine. 

But  I  want  to  carry  this  subject  a  little  further. 
Suppose  we  grant  the  position  that  a  murderer  is 
worthy  of  death,  and  that  he  is  particularly  worthy  of 
death  if  he  has  been  enlightened  by  the  power  of  God 
and  knows  the  full  etxent  of  that  great  transgression 
— supposing  we  admit  that  for  the  sake  of  argument 
— the  next  question  that  arises  is,  Who  is  to  inflict  this 
penalty?  What  do  our  Church  laws  say  on  this 
subject?  I  will  refer  you  to  section  xlii  of  the  Book  of 
Doctrine  and  Covenants,  and  the  eighteenth  verse : 

"And  now,  behold,  I  speak  unto  the  Church.  Thou 
shalt  not  kill ;  and  he  that  kills  shall  not  have  forgive- 
ness in  this  world,  nor  in  the  world  to  come. 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  27 

"And  again,  I  say,  Thou  shalt  not  kill ;  but  he  that 
killeth  shall  die." 

Here  is  the  law  of  God  to  the  Church.  You  know 
it  is  represented  abroad  that  the  Latter-day  Saints 
believe  in  killing  in  a  great  many  different  directions. 
But  here  is  the  law  of  God  to  the  Church  by  revela- 
tion. This  is  the  word  of  God  Almighty  to  the  Saints. 
This  law  is  given  to  people  who  have  been  baptized, 
who  have  received  the  Holy  Ghost,  who  have  been 
made  partakers  of  the  heavenly  gift — "Thou  shalt  not 
kill ;  but  he  that  killeth  shall  die."  But  that  does  not 
answer  the  question,  Who  is  to  inflict  the  penalty?  I 
will  refer  you  to  a  passage  a  little  further  on  in  the 
same  revelation — section  xlii,  verse  79 : 

"It  shall  come  to  pass,  that  if  any  persons  among 
you  shall  kill,  they  shall  be  delivered  up  and  dealt  with 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  land ;  for  remember  that 
he  hath  no  forgiveness,  and  it  shall  be  proven  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  the  land." 

Now,  there  is  the  word  of  the  Lord  to  this  Church 
— that  if  a  man  kills  he  shall  be  delivered  up  to  be 
dealt  with  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land.  Here, 
you  will  see,  there  is  a  general  principle  laid  down 
by  the  Lord  to  the  Church — that  they  are  to  obey  the 
laws  of  the  land.  If  a  man  commits  a  crime  he  is 
to  be  delivered  over  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the 
laws  of  the  land,  and  his  offense  is  to  be  proven,  not 
by  the  laws  of  the  Church,  but  by  the  laws  of  the  land. 
The  Church  can  withdraw  fellowship  from  him,  but 
the  Church  has  no  authority  to  execute  the  death 
penalty.  A  man  may  be  deserving  of  death,  but  it  is 
not  in  the  province  of  the  Church  to  kill,  he  must  be 
delivered  over  to  be  dealt  with  according  to  the  laws 
of  the  land. 


28  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

But  here  I  shall  be  cited  by  our  opponents  to  some 
remarks  by  Elder  Jedediah  M.  Grant.  Little  bits  of 
extracts  have  been  sent  abroad  from  time  to  time,  and 
a  great  many  false  constructions  put  upon  them.  But 
here  is  something  that  seems  to  come  in  conflict  with 
the  revelation  I  have  read : 

"I  say  that  there  are  men  and  women  that  I  would 
advise  to  go  to  the  President  immediately,  and  ask 
him  to  appoint  a  committee  to  attend  to  their  case; 
and  then  let  a  place  be  selected,  and  let  that  committee 
shed  their  blood."  (Journal  of  Discourses,  Vol.  4, 
page  51.) 

What  kind  of  folks  was  he  talking  about?  Let  us 
see. 

"Some  have  received  the  Priesthood,  a  knowledge  of 
the  things  of  God,  and  they  dishonor  the  cause  of  truth, 
commit  adultery  and  every  other  abomination  beneath 
the  heavens,  and  then  meet  you  here  or  on  the  street 
and  deny  it."  (Journal  of  Discourses,  Vol.  4,  page  51.) 

These  were  the  kind  of  people  he  was  talking  about. 
Brother  Grant  expressed  in  this  strong  language  his 
feelings  in  regard  to  these  transgressors.  He  felt 
that  they  were  worthy  of  death;  and  that  the  only 
chance  for  them  was  to  have  their  blood  shed.  You 
must  remember  that  this  was  at  the  time  of  the  refor- 
mation, when  all  the  people  in  these  valleys  were  re- 
quired to  repent  of  their  sins  and  renew  their  cove- 
nants ;  when  the  power  of  God  rested  upon  the  peo- 
ple and  caused  them  to  rise  in  their  meetings  and  con- 
fess their  sins,  and  then  it  was  found  that  some  men 
who  had  received  the  Priesthood  had  committed  adul- 
tery and  other  great  transgressions,  as  members  had 
done  in  the  early  Christian  church.  This  was  why 
Brother  Grant  expressed  himself  so  strongly. 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  29 

The  question  arises  whether  any  one  of  these  re- 
ceived the  penalty.  Does  any  one  know  of  a  single 
case  of  blood  atonement,  in  the  popular  sense  of  the 
term,  having"  been  inflicted  in  Utah?  If  you  do,  you 
know  more  than  I  do,  and  I  have  investigated  the  mat- 
ter pretty  thoroughly.  Has  there  ever  been  a  case  of 
blood-shedding  by  the  authorities  of  the  Church,  or  by 
the  sanction  of  the  Church,  outside  of  the  regular  op- 
erations of  the  criminal  law?  I  say  there  has  not,  and 
let  those  who  say  there  have  been  such  instances  bring 
forth  proofs.  The  burden  of  proof  is  upon  them.  I 
deny  that  there  has  ever  been  a  case  of  blood  atone- 
ment in  Utah,  in  the  sense  that  the  charge  has  been 
spread  abroad  to  the  world.  I  admit  that  the  doctrine 
has  been  preached,  that  men  have  committed  sins  for 
which  they  were  worthy  of  death — sins  for  which  they 
could  not  get  forgiveness  short  of  shedding  their 
blood ;  but  I  deny  that  the  law  has  been  enforced,  and 
I  will  give  you  the  reason  why  it  was  not  enforced. 
This  is  from  a  sermon  by  President  Brigham  Young, 
published  in  the  same  book,  page  220 : 

"I  could  refer  you  to  plenty  of  instances  where  men 
have  been  righteously  slain  in  order  to  atone  for  their 
sins.  I  have  seen  scores  and  hundreds  of  people  for 
whom  there  would  have  been  a  chance  (in  the  last  res- 
urrection there  will  be)  if  their  lives  had  been  taken 
and  their  blood  spilled  on  the  ground  as  a  smoking 
incense  to  the  Almighty,  but  who  are  now  angels  to 
the  devil  until  our  Elder  Brother  Jesus  Christ  raises 
them  up — conquers  death,  hell  and  the  grave.  *  *  * 
The  wickedness  and  ignorance  of  the  nations  forbid 
this  principle's  being  in  full  force,  but  the  time  will 
come  when  the  law  of  God  will  be  in  full  force.,, 

I  now  read  from  the  same  discourse,  page  219: 
'The  time  has  been  in  Israel  under  the  law  of  God, 


30  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

the  celestial  law,  or  that  which  pertains  to  the  celestial 
law,  for  it  is  one  of  the  laws  of  that  kingdom  where 
our  Father  dwells,  that  if  a  man  was  found  guilty 
of  adultery  he  must  have  his  blood  shed,  and  that  is 
near  at  hand.  But  now  I  say,  in  the  name  of  the  Lord, 
that  if  this  people  sin  no  more,  but  faithfully  live  their 
religion,  their  sins  will  be  forgiven  them  without  tak- 
ing life." 

President  Young  and  Jedediah  M.  Grant  preached 
this  doctrine  to  the  people  at  that  time,  because  there 
was  a  necessity  for  it  in  consequence  of  the  trans- 
gressions of  the  people,  and  it  worked  upon  them  in 
the  same  way  that  the  instructions  which  Jesus  Christ 
gave  to  His  apostles  acted  upon  the  people  in  His  day, 
and  have  a  similar  effect  in  this  day — that  is,  by  the 
principle  of  fear.     For  instance,  Jesus  declared: 

"He  that  believeth  and  is  baptized  shall  be  saved, 
and  he  that  believeth  not  shall  be  damned." 

You  will  find  just  such  declarations  all  through  the 
revelations  of  God.  His  servants  in  preaching  the 
gospel  have  had  to  hold  up  the  penalty  for  sin  that  fear 
might  take  hold  upon  the  wicked,  and  that  people  might 
be  led  not  to  transgress  the  divine  commands.  There 
is  a  higher  law  to  which  we  all  should  advance,  and 
that  is  that  men  should  learn  to  do  right  for  right- 
ousness  sake;  men  should  learn  to  avoid  wrong  be- 
cause it  is  wrong,  not  because  they  will  be  damned 
for  doing  it,  not  because  there  will  be  a  penalty  in- 
flicted for  committing  sin,  but  because  it  is  wrong 
and  their  souls  revolt  against  it.  Men  should  do  right 
for  the  love  of  it,  not  because  there  is  a  reward  for 
doing  right,  but  because  right  is  good,  and  is  beauti- 
ful, and  is  exalting.  But  have  all  mankind  reached 
that  high  plane?    No;  very  few  have  advanced  to  it. 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  31 

The  doctrine  of  condemnation  has  to  be  preached  to 
the  world  as  well  as  the  doctrine  of  salvation.  People 
have  to  be  encouraged  by  the  hope  of  reward,  and 
deterred  from  doing  wrong  by  the  fear  of  punishment ; 
whereas,  he  that  is  governed  by  the  higher  law — the 
law  that  God  lives,  that  Jesus  Christ  lives — says,  "This 
is  right,  therefore  I  will  do  it ;  that  is  wrong,  therefore 
I  will  avoid  it  because  it  is  wrong;  for  if  I  do  wrong 
it  debases  me,  but  if  I  do  right  it  exalts  me."  For  the 
practice  of  right  elevates  a  man,  while  the  practice  of 
wrong  brings  him  down  and  degrades  him.  But  the 
divine  appeal  to  all  is,  generally,  "If  you  will  keep 
my  commandments  you  will  be  rewarded ;  if  you  com- 
mit transgression  you  shall  be  damned."  That  is  the 
word  of  the  Lord  to  the  world.  Now,  Brothers  Jed- 
ediah  M.  Grant  and  Brigham  Young,  because  of  the 
transgressions  of  the  people,  spoke  as  I  have  quoted. 
This  was  the  time  of  the  "reformation"  and  the  fears 
of  evil-doers  were  worked  upon  to  induce  reform,  and 
hence  the  strong  language  used  at  that  time.  Do  we 
need  the  same  language  now?  I  hope  not;  but  if 
there  was  any  need  for  it,  it  would  be  just  as  applicable 
now  as  then. 

The  reason  why  this  penalty  referred  to  by  Presi- 
dent Young  was  not  inflicted  as  in  olden  time  was 
because  ,of  the  laws  of  the  land.  We  have  to  observe 
them  as  I  have  just  read  to  you.  The  law  of  the  land 
says  that  if  a  man  kills  he  shall  suffer  death.  But  the 
laws  of  the  land  do  not  say  that  the  adulterer  shall  be 
put  to  death.  Therefore,  the  penalty,  however  de- 
served, cannot  be  inflicted.  Sometimes  an  injured  hus- 
band pursues  the  seducer  or  the  adulterer,  and  sheds 
his  blood,  and  it  is  very  seldom,  if  ever,  in  this  coun- 
try, that  a  person  who  takes  the  law  into  his  own  hands 


32  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

and  inflicts  this  penalty  has  to  suffer  the  judgment  of 
the  law  against  murder.  A  jury  of  his  countrymen 
will  scarcely  ever  convict  a  man  who  takes  vengeance 
on  the  seducer  of  his  wife,  sister  or  daughter.  But 
it  is  not  for  the  Church  to  inflict  this  deserved  penalty, 
because  the  Church  wishes  to  observe  the  laws  of  the 
land ;  and  the  commandment  of  God  is,  if  a  man  com- 
mits murder  he  shall  be  delivered  up  to  be  dealt  with 
according  to  the  laws  of  the  land. 

Now,  if  there  appears  to  be  some  conflict  between 
Elder  Jedediah  M.  Grant's  remarks  which  I  have 
quoted,  and  what  I  read  to  you  from  the  Doctrine  and 
Covenants — I  don't  think  there  is  however — it  must  be 
remembered  that  we  are  to  be  governed  by  the  law  of 
God.  And  the  law  of  God  by  revelation  from  on  high, 
the  law  of  God  as  revealed  through  the  head,  is  of 
greater  importance  and  more  binding  than  the  opinions 
of  any  man  no  matter  who  he  may  be.  The  law  of 
God  is  paramount.  When  men  give  their  views  upon 
any  doctrine,  the  value  of  those  views  is  as  the  value 
of  the  man.  If  he  is  a  wise  man,  a  man  of  under- 
standing, of  experience  and  authority,  such  views  are 
of  great  weight  with  the  community ;  but  they  are  not 
paramount,  nor  equal  to  the  revealed  law  of  God. 
However,  I  see  no  conflict  between  Brother  Grant's 
views  and  the  revelation,  and  I  have  explained  to  you 
from  President  Young's  own  discourse  the  reason  why 
the  death  penalty  was  not  inflicted,  and  this  is  evidence 
that  as  a  matter  of  fact  it  was  not  inflicted. 

Yet  the  most  frightful  stories  have  been  published 
concerning  the  alleged  blood  atonement  among  the 
"Mormons,"  and  the  most  horrible  pictures  have  been 
printed  to  illustrate  those  imaginary  sacrifices.  I  wish 
I  could  throw  upon  a  screen  these  pictures  published  in 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  33 

this  book  "The  Mysteries  of  Mormonism,"  that  you 
might  see  for  yourselves.  These  stories  and  disgusting 
pictures  have  been  published  and  spread  abroad 
throughout  the  United  States  for  the  purpose  of  mis- 
representing this  doctrine  of  blood  atonement.  I  know 
of  no  fitting  use  for  such  works  unless  it  is  to  be  put 
in  the  fire.  But  that  you  may  know  something  of  the 
character  of  this  book  I  will  read  to  you  an  extract: 

"Mrs.  Maxwell  had  two  sons,  aged  respectively 
fourteen  and  sixteen  years.  Their  father  urged  them 
to  go  through  the  Endowment  House  and  become  Mor- 
mons, bound  by  all  the  oaths  of  the  church.  Mrs. 
Maxwell  objected,  and  in  order  to  prevail  over  her  sons 
she  told  them  the  secrets  of  the  Endowment  House. 

"The  penalty  for  revealing  these  secrets  is  dismem- 
berment of  the  body,  the  throat  cut,  and  the  tongue 
torn  out. 

"Mr.  Maxwell  overheard  his  wife,  being  in  an  ad- 
joining room,  and  forthwith  he  informed  the  Elders, 
who  sent  for  the  unfortunate  woman  and  her  two  sons. 
They  were  taken  into  what  is  called  the  'dark  pit/  a 
blood-atoning  room  under  Brigham  Young's  house. 
The  woman  was  then  stripped  of  all  her  clothing,  and 
then  tied  on  her  back  to  a  large  table.  Six  members 
of  the  Priesthood  then  performed  their  damnable 
crime;  they  first  cut  off  their  victim's  tongue,  they 
then  cut  her  throat,  after  which  her  legs  and  arms 
were  severed. 

"The  sons  were  compelled  to  stand  by  and  witness 
this  dreadful  slaughter  of  their  mother.  They  were 
then  released  and  given  twenty- four  hours  to  get  out 
of  the  Territory,  which  was  then  an  impossibility.  The 
sons  went  directly  to  the  house  of  a  friend,  to  whom 
they  related  the  butchery  of  their  mother,  and  obtain- 
ing a  package  of  provisions  they  started;  but  on  the 
following  morning  they  were  both  dead. 

"They  had  met  the  Danites. 

"Created  in  the  most  sombre  secrecy,  this  infam- 


34  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

ous  organization  was  from  the  first  a  shadowy  terror 
known  only  by  its  works.  The  real  calling  of  a 
'Destroying  Angel'  is  rarely  known  save  among  his  fel- 
lows. To  the  bulk  of  the  people  to  whom  he  is  a  con- 
stant menace,  the  assassin  of  the  church  is  a  mere 
spectre,  red-handed,  merciless  and  deadly,  but  invis- 
ible" "and  therefore  the  more  dreadful.  Your  mur- 
derer might  be  your  own  brother,  and  you  never  dream 
it,  so  well  are  the  secrets  of  this  shameful  order  kept." 

Now  the  person  who  wrote  this,  claims  to  have  seen 
one  of  these  "Destroying  Angels,"  or  "Danites,"  and  I 
will  read  what  is  said,  so  that  you  will  see  how  much 
value  to  place  upon  the  story : 

"An  instance  of  this :  One  day  in  Salt  Lake  City  I 
was  out  walking  with  a  male  relative,  and  a  man 
stopped  us.  During  the  conversation  I  watched  him 
closely,  because  he  was  so  handsome — with  light, 
wavy  brown  hair,  skin  like  a  girl's,  and  beautiful  blue 
eyes.  He  was  tall  and  of  slender  build.  He  was 
dressed  after  the  fashion  of  men  in  general,  except  that 
he  wore  a  large  sombrero,  which  he  kept  drawn  well 
over  his  face.  He  conversed  affably,  his  voice  being 
noticeably  melodious.  After  he  went  his  way  my 
cousin  said: 

"  'Well,  you  have  seen  one  at  last.' 

"'One  what?'  I  asked. 

"  'An  Avenging  Angel.' 

'"Where,  where?'  I  asked,  looking  around. 

'"Why,  the  man  who  has  just  left  us.  He  is  the 
chief  'Avenging  Angel,'  and  has  had  a  hand  in  the 
bloodiest  deeds  that  have  stained  the  record  of  this 
Territory.' ' 

That  is  how  she  knew  that  she  had  seen  a  "Destroy- 
ing Angel."  What  could  be  more  convincing?  Her 
cousin  told  her  so  and  she  was  prepared  to  credit  that 
and  more  too,  and  hence  the  "horrible  tales"  that  are 
told  to  travelers  who  are  ready  to  gulp  them  down. 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  35 

These  are  the  kind  of  stories  published  to  the  world 
in  regard  to  this  doctrine  of  blood  atonement.  I  think 
I  will  read  an  extract  or  two  from  another  work: 
"Fifteen  years  among  the  Mormons, "  which  has  been 
circulated  extensively  throughout  the  country.  The 
author  of  this  work — Mrs.  Mary  Ettie  V.  Smith — 
says: 

"I  deem  it  proper  to  state  in  connection,  that  the 
mysteries  of  the  Second  Anointing  of  the  Endowments, 
among  other  inhuman  ceremonies  are  supposed — " 

A  good  many  things  supposed,  you  see. 

"to  be  defiled  by  the  monstrous  rite  of  offering  human 
sacrifices,  or  at  least,  that  the  doctrine  is  fully  taught 
and  developed  there.  Enough  has  already  transpired 
among  the  women  to  justify  this  conclusion.  Those 
who  have  not  taken  this  anointing,  and  but  a  compar- 
atively small  number  have  taken  it,  are  very  alarmed 
about  this  as  they  know  not  what  to  expect.  They 
are  always  upon  the  rack,  as  they  are  liable  to  be 
called  upon  at  any  time  to  go  to  the  Endowment  rooms 
for  that  purpose.,, 

How  much  truth  there  is  in  that  you  folks  that  are 
"on  the  rack"  can  tell.  You  would  never  have  known 
in  what  fears  you  lived  if  this  veracious  (?)  historian 
had  not  told  you. 

Again : 

"The  Mormons  recognize  the  right,  and  inculcate  the 
duty  of  the  father  to  slay  his  daughter  or  her  lover,  as 
a  last  resort,  to  prevent  her  marriage  with  a  'Gentile.'  " 

Did  you  "Mormons"  ever  hear  of  such  a  "right  or 
duty"  before?  But  here  is  a  story  of  a  father  who  is 
said  to  have  been  absent  when  his  daughter  married  a 
"Gentile."    I  read  from  the  same  book : 

"For  when  he  heard  of  it,  he  wrote  to  the  prophet 


36  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

blaming  him  very  severely  for  not  preventing  the  mar- 
riage by  the  sacrifice  of  her  life.  He  wrote  that  he 
should  always  feel  dissatisfied  because  the  blood  of  his 
daughter  had  not  been  shed  to  atone  for  the  sin  of 
marrying  out  of  the  church." 

What  do  you  think  of  a  story  like  that?  But  here 
is  an  account  of  a  man  by  "the  name  of  Hardy,"  who 
is  said  to  have  been  "blood  atoned :" 

"I  do  not  understand  all  he  discovered,  or  all  he  did ; 
but  they  found  he  had  written  against  the  Church, 
and  he  was  cut  off;  and  the  prophet  required,  as  an 
atonement  for  his  sins,  that  he  should  lay  down  his  life. 
That  he  should  be  sacrificed  in  the  endowment  rooms, 
where  human  sacrifices  are  sometimes  made  in  this 
way.  This  I  never  knew  until  my  husband  told  me, 
but  it  is  true.  They  kill  those  there  who  have  com- 
mitted sins  too  great  to  be  atoned  for  in  any  other 
way.  The  prophet  says  if  they  submit  to  this  he  can 
save  them;  otherwise  they  are  lost.  Oh,  that  is  hor- 
rible P 

It  is  indeed  very  horrible ;  almost  as  horrible  to  in- 
vent such  falsehoods  as  the  stories  would  be  if  they 
were  true.  But  I  do  not  think  I  will  take  up  any  more 
time  in  reading  extracts  of  that  kind.  There  is  just 
one  more,  however,  that  I  would  like  to  read  from  a 
lecture  by  the  Rev.  Sheldon  Jackson,  who  was  once  in 
this  city,  and  who  has  delivered  a  great  many  mislead- 
ing lectures  on  "Mormonism."  In  a  lecture  delivered 
in  Dr.  Cuyler's  church  in  Brooklyn,  he  said: 

"The  Mormon  women  are  expected  to  do  all  the 
work  of  the  farm  and  support  the  man,  leaving  him  to 
idle  away  his  time  if  he  likes,  perhaps  hunting  or  fish- 
ing. They  are  not  only  servants,  but  slaves;  and  if 
any  wife  tries  to  escape  she  is  shot  down  by  the 
Danites,  and  her  carcass  is  left  to  rot  on  the  ground." 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  37 

These  are  a  very  few  of  the  stories  circulated  in 
regard  to  this  doctrine  of  blood  atonement,  and  it  has 
been  given  out  by  a  sheet  published  in  this  city — the 
name  of  which  I  never  like  to  mention,  it  always  leaves 
such  a  bad  taste  in  my  mouth — that  a  great  many 
persons,  Latter-day  Saints,  have  been  blood-atoned; 
that  is,  they  have  had  their  blood  shed  for  the  com- 
mission of  certain  sins ;  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Church 
is  that  apostates  must  have  their  blood  shed,  and  to 
carry  this  doctrine  still  further  it  has  been  stated  that 
persons  who  never  were  members  of  the  Church  at  all 
have  been  "blood-atoned."  The  Mountain  Meadows 
massacre  is  referred  to.  Those  who  suffered  that 
awful  fate,  were  it  is  asserted,  "blood-atoned ;"  and 
the  same  has  been  said  of  some  horse-thieves  who  were 
killed  while  escaping  from  the  officers  of  justice. 
Well,  the  best  answer  to  all  these  stories  is,  that  they 
cannot  produce  a  single  case  of  blood-atonement — can- 
not produce  one  individual  case  of  a  man  or  woman  in 
this  Territory  who  has  suffered,  at  the  hands  of  the 
Church,  this  penalty  that  President  Young  said  ought 
to  be  inflicted  upon  persons  guilty  of  capital  crimes. 
There  are,  no  doubt,  many  persons  that  ought  to  be 
killed  who  are  still  living,  and  you  need  not  go  very  far 
from  this  hall  to  find  them.  Criminals  may  be  worthy  of 
death,  but  who  is  going  to  kill  them  ?  I  would  not  soil 
my  hands  with  their  blood  nor  their  persons.  The 
further  I  can  get  away  from  them  the  better  for  me. 
Would  I  touch  a  hair  of  their  heads?  No,  I  would 
not.  I  would  let  the  law  take  its  course,  and  if  the 
law  does  not  take  its  course,  then  I  would  leave  them 
in  the  hands  of  the  Lord.  Is  not  that  the  doctrine  of 
the  Latter-day  Saints?  I  think  it  is.  I  know  the 
principles  of  our  faith  pretty  well. 


38  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

I  know  the  feelings  of  the  leaders  of  the  Church — 
Presidents  Taylor,  Cannon  and  Smith — and  other  au- 
thorities of  the  Church.  They  have  a  horror,  a  repug- 
nance to  the  shedding  of  blood.  They  have  no  desire 
in  their  hearts  to  inflict  any  penalty  of  that  kind  upon 
any  individual.  And  as  to  transgressors  who  are  not 
of  our  faith,  they  want  nothing  to  do  with  them.  All 
we  claim  the  right  to  do  in  this  respect  is  to  defend 
ourselves  against  our  enemies,  and  we  have  the  law  of 
God  on  that  question.  We  are  told  in  the  book  of 
Doctrine  and  Covenants  that  if  our  enemies  come 
against  us  and  they  repent,  we  are  to  forgive  them. 
And  if  they  come  again  the  second  time,  they  are  to  be 
forgiven ;  also  the  third  time  they  are  to  be  forgiven ; 
and  if  they  still  persist  and  seek  our  lives,  we  have  the 
right  to  defend  ourselves  to  the  last  extremity.  But 
if  we  then  forgive  them  we  shall  be  rewarded  for  our 
righteousness.  All  this  shows  that  the  Lord  does  not 
delight  in  the  shedding  of  blood,  neither  do  His  ser- 
vants. We  are  told  that  we  shall  not  be  blood  shed- 
ders.  We  are  to  be  temple  builders.  David  of  old  was 
not  allowed  to  build  the  temple  because  he  was  not 
clean  from  the  blood  of  his  generation.  And  the  people 
called  Latter-day  Saints,  from  the  heads  of  the  Church 
down  to  the  humblest  member,  have  a  horror  of  the 
shedding  of  human  blood.  They  are  not  a  bloody- 
minded  people.  They  are  a  forbearing  people,  as  our 
cowardly  persecutors  are  well  aware.  And  yet  there 
is  a  point  where  forbearance  ceases  to  be  a  virtue. 

These  are  some  of  the  ideas  entertained  by  the  Lat- 
ter-day Saints  on  the  subjecct  of  blood  atonement. 
After  baptized  persons  have  made  sacred  covenants 
with  God  and  then  commit  deadly  sins,  the  only  atone- 
ment they  can  make  is  the  shedding  of  their  blood.    At 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  39 

the  same  time,  because  of  the  laws  of  the  land,  and  the 
prejudices  of  the  nation,  and  the  ignorance  of  the 
world,  this  law  cannot  be  carried  out.  But  when  the 
time  comes  that  the  law  of  God  shall  be  in  full  force 
upon  the  earth,  then  this  penalty  will  be  inflicted  for 
those  crimes  committed  by  persons  under  covenant  not 
to  commit  them. 

There  is  one  passage  I  read  from  Prest.  Young's 
discourse  that  may  need  a  little  explanation.  We  will 
let  him  explain  himself.  I  read  to  you  just  now  that 
Prest.  Young  said  he  had  known  of  many  instances 
where  men  had  been  righteously  slain  to  atone  for  their 
sins.    Let  me  read  it  again : 

"I  could  refer  you  to  plenty  of  instances  where  men 
have  been  righteously  slain  in  order  to  atone  for  their 
sins." 

That  sentence  is  copied  and  scattered  broadcast 
throughout  the  nation,  coupled  with  some  other  little 
bits,  here  and  there,  from  his  sayings.  Our  opponents 
tack  them  together,  sometimes  giving  the  first  part  of 
a  sentence  and  leaving  the  latter  part  out;  at  others, 
giving  the  latter  part,  but  omitting  the  former,  mak- 
ing the  quotation  have  a  different  meaning  to  that 
which  was  intended;  after  the  fashion  of  joining  these 
two  scraps  of  scripture : 

"And  Judas  went  out  and  hanged  himself." 
"Go  thou  and  do  likewise." 

They  tack  portions  of  sentences  together  and  send 
them  forth  as  the  veritable  utterances  of  the  "Mormon" 
leaders.  I  will  read  to  you  what  Brigham  Young  really 
meant  and  said  in  regard  to  those  who  had  been  "right- 
eously slain  for  their  sins."    I  read  from  the  same  page 


40  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

of  the  same  discourse.     {Journal  of  Discourses,  page 
220)  : 

"Now,  take  the  wicked,  and  I  can  refer  you  to  where 
the  Lord  had  to  slay  every  soul  of  the  Israelites  that 
went  out  of  Egypt  except  Caleb  and  Joshua.  He  slew 
them  by  the  hands  of  their  enemies,  by  the  plague 
and  by  the  sword.  Why  ?  Because  He  loved  them  and 
promised  Abraham  He  would  save  them." 

Who  was  Brigham  Young  referring  to  when  he 
said  that  in  many  instances  men  had  been  righteously 
slain  to  atone  for  their  sins?  Any  one  who  had  lived 
in  latter  times  ?  No,  but  those  old  Israelites  whom  the 
Lord  slew.  He  referred  also  to  the  people  that  lived 
in  the  days  of  Noah,  and  other  transgressors  in  early 
times  whom  the  scriptures  say  the  Lord  destroyed  for 
their  sins.  Now,  that  is  Brigham  Young's  doctrine 
of  blood  atonement. 

It  will  be  necessary  to  say  a  few  words  in  regard  to 
the  supposed  order  of  "Danites,"  because  the  doctrine 
of  blood  atonement,  as  misrepresented  to  the  world, 
is  always  intimately  connected  with  that  alleged  order. 
Danites  are  supposed  to  be  a  body  of  men  who  inflict 
the  penalty  of  blood  atonement.  Let  me  say  here,  once 
and  for  all,  that  I  know  of  no  such  order,  never  have 
known  of  any  such  order.  Is  there  anybody  here  who 
knows  of  Danites,  cut-throats  or  destroying  angels, 
who  lie  in  the  way  of  apostates,  and  prevent  their  leav- 
ing the  Territory?  No.  You  will  find  that  all  these 
stories  told  by  lecturers  and  others  are  derived  from 
tales  told  by  untruthful  men  who  are  opposed  to  us. 
Talk  about  Danites  and  destroying  angels,  and  about 
people  being  killed  to  prevent  their  escape  from  Utah ! 
Is  it  not  remarkable  that  these  people  who  have  been 
in  such  imminent  danger  of  being  killed  always  man- 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  41 

age  to  make  their  "escape?"  Our  enemies  cannot  point 
to  a  single  instance  where  a  person  who  wanted  to  get 
away  from  Utah  did  not  "escape." 

The  Danite  idea  sprang  from  a  circumstance  that 
occurred  in  the  days  of  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith.  I 
will  read  an  extract  from  the  history  of  Joseph  Smith, 
under  date  of  October,  1838,  published  in  the  Millen- 
nial Star,  in  1854.  This  idea  of  Danites  had  gone 
abroad  so  much  that  the  Prophet  thought  the  false- 
hoods circulated  ought  to  be  corrected : 

"And  here  I  would  state,  that  while  the  evil  spirits 
were  raging  up  and  down  in  the  State  to  raise  mobs 
against  the  'Mormons/  Satan  himself  was  no  less  busy 
in  striving  to  stir  up  mischief  in  the  camp  of  the 
Saints;  and  among  the  most  conspicuous  of  his  will- 
ing devotees  was  one  Doctor  Sampson  Avard,  who 
had  been  in  the  Church  but  a  short  time,  and  who, 
although  he  had  generally  behaved  with  a  tolerable 
degree  of  external  decorum,  was  secretly  aspiring  to  be 
the  greatest  of  the  great,  and  become  the  leader  of 
the  people.  This  was  his  pride  and  his  folly,  but  as 
he  had  no  hopes  of  accomplishing  it  by  gaining  the 
hearts  of  the  people  in  open  strife,  he  watched  his  op- 
portunity with  the  brethren,  at  a  time  when  mobs  op- 
pressed, robbed,  whipped,  burned,  plundered  and  slew, 
till  forbearance  seemed  no  longer  a  virtue,  and  nothing 
but  the  grace  of  God  without  measure  could  support 
men  under  such  trials,  to  form  a  secret  combination  by 
which  he  might  rise  a  mighty  conqueror,  at  the  ex- 
pense of  the  overthrow  of  the  Church;  and  this  he 
tried  to  accomplish  by  his  smooth,  flattering  and  win- 
ning speeches,  which  he  frequently  made  to  his  asso- 
ciates, while  his  room  was  well  guarded  by  some  of 
his  pupils,  ready  to  give  him  the  wink  on  the  approach 
of  anyone  who  would  not  approve  of  his  measures. 

"In  this  situation,  he  stated  that  he  had  the  sanc- 
tion of  the  heads  of  the  Church  for  what  he  was  about 
to  do ;  and  by  his  smiles  and  flattery  persuaded  them 


42  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

to  believe  it,  and  proceeded  to  administer  to  the  few 
under  his  control,  an  oath,  binding  them  to  ever- 
lasting secresy  to  everything  which  should  be  commun- 
icated to  them  by  himself.  Thus  Avard  initiated  mem- 
bers into  his  band,  firmly  binding  them,  by  all  that 
was  sacred,  in  the  protecting  of  each  other  in  all 
things  that  were  lawful;  and  was  careful  to  picture 
out  a  great  glory  that  was  then  hovering  over  the 
Church,  and  would  soon  burst  upon  the  Saints  as  a 
cloud  by  day,  and  a  pillar  of  fire  by  night,  and  would 
soon  unveil  the  slumbering  mysteries  of  heaven,  which 
would  gladden  the  hearts  and  arouse  the  stupid  spirits 
of  the  Saints  of  the  latter-day,  and  fill  their  hearts 
with  that  love  which  is  unspeakable  and  full  of  glory, 
and  arm  them  with  power,  that  the  gates  of  hell 
could  not  prevail  agninst  them;  and  would  often  af- 
firm to  his  company,  that  the  principal  men  of  the 
Church  had  put  him  forward  as  a  spokesman,  and  a 
leader  of  this  band  which  he  named  Danites.  *  *  *  * 

"After  those  performances  he  held  meetings  to  or- 
ganize his  men  into  companies  of  tens  and  fifties,  ap- 
pointing  a   captain  over  each  company.     *     *     *     * 

"When  a  knowledge  of  Avard's  rascality  came  to  the 
Presidency  of  the  Church,  he  was  cut.  off  from  the 
Church,  and  every  means  properly  used  to  destroy  his 
influence,  at  which  he  was  highly  incensed,  and  went 
about  whispering  his  evil  insinuations,  but  finding 
every  effort  unavailing,  he  again  turned  conspirator, 
and  sought  to  make  friends  with  the  mob. 

"And  here  let  it  be  distinctly  understood,  that  these 
companies  of  tens  and  fifties  got  up  by  Avard,  were 
altogether  separate  and  distinct  from  those  compan- 
ies of  tens  and  fifties  organized  by  the  brethren  for 
self-defense,  in  case  of  an  attack  from  the  mob,  and 
more  particularly  that  in  this  time  of  alarm  no  family 
or  person  might  be  neglected,  therefore,  one  company 
would  be  engaged  in  drawing  wood,  another  in  cutting- 
it,  another  in  gathering  corn,  another  in  grinding, 
another  in  butchering,  another  in  distributing  meat, 
etc.,  so  that  all  should  be  employed  in  turn,  and  no- 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  43 

one  lack  the  necessaries  of  life.  Therefore,  let  no 
one  hereafter,  by  mistake  or  design,  confound  this  or- 
ganization of  the  Church  for  good  and  righteous  pur- 
poses, with  the  organization  of  the  Danites,  of  the 
apostate  Avard,  which  died  almost  before  it  had  ex- 
istence." 

There  is  a  further  reference  on  the  same  subject  in 
a  letter  from  the  Prophet  Joseph  Smith,  dated  Decem- 
ber, 1838,  to  be  found  in  the  same  volume,  page  627: 

"We  have  learned  also  since  we  have  been  prisoners, 
that  many  false  and  pernicious  things,  which  were 
calculated  to  lead  the  Saints  far  astray  and  to  do  great 
injury,  have  been  taught  by  Dr.  Avard  as  coming  from 
the  Presidency,  and  we  have  reason  to  fear  that  many 
other  designing  and  corrupt  characters  like  unto  him- 
self, have  been  teaching  many  things  which  the  Presi- 
dency never  knew  of  being  taught  in  the  Church  by 
anybody  until  after  they  were  made  prisoners,  which 
if  they  had  known  of,  they  would  have  spurned  them 
and  their  authors  from  them,  as  they  would  the  gates 
of  hell.  Thus  we  find  that  there  have  been  frauds 
and  secret  abominations  and  evil  works  of  darkness 
going  on,  leading  the  minds  of  the  weak  and  unwary 
into  confusion  and  distraction,  and  palming  it  all  the 
time  upon  the  Presidency,  while  meantime  the  Presi- 
dency were  ignorant  as  well  as  innocent  of  those  things 
which  were  practising  in  the  Church  in  their  name." 

It  will  be  seen,  then,  that  this  notion  about  "Danites" 
and  "Destroying  Angels"  originated  in  the  way  indi- 
cated in  what  I  have  read.  This  was  the  little  bit  of 
fire  from  which  all  this  smoke  has  arisen.  Behold 
how  great  a  matter  that  little  fire  hath  kindled!  All 
the  stories  about  preventing  people  leaving  this  Terri- 
tory, about  "Danites"  or  "Destroying  Angels"  way-lay- 
ing apostates  and  shedding  their  blood ;  all  the  horrible, 
blood-curdling  stories  like  those  I  have  refererd  to — 


44  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

stories  about  men  and  women  being  taken  out  on  the 
prairie  to  starve  or  to  welter  in  their  blood — all  these 
are  lies  made  out  of  whole  cloth.  The  organization 
was  started  in  the  way  I  have  shown.  That  is  all 
there  is  to  that  matter. 

But  before  I  sit  down  I  want  to  say  a  word  or  two 
about  the  Mountain  Meadows  Massacre.  Perhaps  this 
subject  should  be  taken  up  on  another  occasion  and 
gone  into  fully.  I  claim,  however,  that  the  Latter-day 
Saints  are  no  more  to  be  charged  with  the  great  crime 
that  was  committed  at  Mountain  Meadows  than  any 
other  church  is  to  be  charged  for  the  wrongs  done  by 
its  church  members.  I  have  not  time  tonight  to  go  into 
the  details  of  this  subject,  to  show  who  were  engaged 
in  the  crime,  and  how  it  came  to  be  committed ;  I  will 
leave  that  to  be  done  on  some  other  occasion.  I  wish, 
however,  to  put  on  record  for  myself,  and  my  brethren 
and  sisters  of  the  Church  of  which  we  are  members, 
that  we  have  a  horror,  a  loathing  and  a  repugnance  at 
the  wickedness  of  that  crime;  that  the  Church  never 
did  endorse  the  deed ;  that  the  Church  never  had  any 
hand  in  it;  that  the  Church  never  condoned  it  after- 
wards; that  as  soon  as  the  President  of  the  Church 
found  out  that  John  D.  Lee  had  been  implicated  in  it 
he  was  cut  off  from  the  Church  and  left  to  be  dealt 
with  according  to  the  laws  of  the  land ;  that  President 
Young  was  innocent  of  any  participation  in  that  crime ; 
and  that  the  delay  in  bringing  Lee  to  justice  was  not 
due  to  President  Young,  or  to  any  stumbling  blocks 
thrown  in  the  way  by  the  Latter-day  Saints — any  lead- 
er of  the  Church,  any  Elder  or  any  members  of  the 
Church — but  was  due  to  the  laxity  of  the  officers  of 


BLOOD  ATONEMENT.  45 

the  law  themselves,  and  I  could  prove  it,  if  there  was 
time,  by  documents  which  I  could  produce.* 

But  the  word  has  gone  out  to  the  world — it  is  pub- 
lished all  over  the  earth  wherever  our  Elders  go;  it 
is  sent  out  from  this  city  purposely  to  misrepresent  this 
people,  and  our  Elders  who  go  forth  to  preach  the  gos- 
pel without  purse  or  scrip,  who  leave  their  homes  and 
suffer  hunger  and  thirst,  and  sometimes  have  no  place 
to  lay  their  heads,  to  bear  testimony,  as  servants  of 
God,  to  the  truth  as  it  has  come  from  heaven — that  the 
gospel  is  restored,  that  the  power  of  the  Priesthood  is 
here,  that  the  way  is  opened  up  whereby  men  may 
gain  access  to  the  Father  and  a  knowledge  of  the 
things  of  eternity;  I  say  when  these  men  go  out  to 
preach  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ  and  to  warn  the  in- 
habitants of  the  earth  of  the  judgments  to  come,  they 
are  met  with  copies  of  that  sheet  that  I  have  alluded 
to  with  falsehoods  about  the  Mountain  Meadows  mas- 
sacre, holding  the  Church  responsible  for  it,  putting  the 
blame  on  President  Young,  and  people's  minds  are 
closed  against  the  truth  in  consequence  of  the  flood 
of  falsehoods  that  has  been  poured  out. 

I  wish  to  say  here  tonight,  that  the  Church  never 
authorized  that  terrible  crime  committed  upon  the  emi- 
grants at  Mountain  Meadows ;  that  the  few  whites  en- 
gaged in  it  claimed  that  it  was  principally  done  by 
Indians;  that  the  Church  does  not  condone  the  shed- 
ding of  blood;  that  the  doctrine  of  the  Church  is,  he 
that  kills  shall  be  delivered  over  to  be  dealt  with  accord- 
ing to  the  laws  of  the  land,  but  it  shall  be  proven 
against  him  by  the  laws  of  the  land.  Has  there  ever 
been  an  iota  of  proof  brought  forward  to  connect  Pres- 


*See  my  lecture,  "The  Mountain  Meadows  Massacre." 


46  BLOOD  ATONEMENT. 

ident  Young  with  that  terrible  crime  at  Mountain 
Meadows?  No.  No  proof,  but  a  great  deal  of  sup- 
position. If  imaginaion  and  jumping  at  conclusions 
are  worth  anything  it  might  be  said  to  have  been 
proven.  But  it  cannot  be  proven  because  it  is  not  true. 
President  Young's  body  lies  in  the  tomb ;  his  spirit  has 
gone  to  the  spirit  world ;  he  is  not  here  to  defend  him- 
self; but  I  take  the  liberty  of  saying,  in  behalf  of 
President  Young,  from  conclusive  evidence,  that  he 
was  not  aware  of  that  dreadful  crime  until  after  it  was 
committed ;  that  he  never  condoned  it,  never  sanctioned 
it,  never  palliated  it  in  the  least  degree ;  he  had  a  hor- 
ror of  it.  And  our  leading  men  today — Presidents 
John  Taylor,  George  Q.  Cannon,  and  Joseph  F.  Smith 
— have  a  horror  ,of  that  dreadful  deed ;  they  denounce 
it  as  a  crime  and  never  palliated  it  in  the  least  degree. 
From  what  I  have  read  to  you  tonight  you  will  see  that 
our  belief  accords  with  the  scripture  that  says:  "A 
murderer  hath  not  eternal  life  abiding  in  him,"  and  that 
a  man  who  has  been  enlightened  by  the  Holy  Ghost  and 
who  commits  that  great  crime  cannot  obtain  forgive- 
ness in  this  world  nor  in  the  world  to  come,  and  that 
after  receiving  the  new  and  everlasting  covenant  even 
the  shedding  of  his  blood  would  not  atone  for  that  sin. 
Now,  my  brethren,  and  sisters,  and  friends,  although 
I  have  had  to  lay  aside  a  number  of  extracts,  which  I 
have  not  had  time  to  introduce,  I  think  I  have  proved 
to  you  that  the  doctrine  of  blood  atonement  is  a  Bible 
doctrine,  Patriarchal,  Mosaic  and  Christian;  not  only 
an  Old  Testament,  but  a  New  Testament  doctrine; 
that  the  Bible  as  well  as  President  Young  teaches  that 
a  murderer  should  have  his  blood  shed,  and  that  the 
adulterer  should  suffer  the  penalty  of  his  crime  by 
death;  that  the  stories  that  have  been  circulated  and 


